One handed student

We have a student (about 10 yrs) that recently came to the main club to train who did judo in one of our after school programs before that. He does not have a right hand; his arm terminates at around where his wrist would be. The end is quite hardened and he says he does not feel pain. Great kid, works hard. I watch him out-hustle able bodied kids. He has heart.

In addition to just having fun, which is important at that age, I'd like to help him focus on a few techniques that will work. One is ippon seionage from a sleeve or lapel grip. Another is tai-otoshi with the blade of the forearm pushing against uke's forearm. Koshi-nage is not allowed under Judo Canada's rules until they are older. O-goshi will have mixed results because his arm isn't quite long enough. I'm thinking taking a left foot stance and de-ashi harai would also be a good option.

My question- does anyone here have experience as a one-handed player, or a coaching a one-handed player? What techniques work well? How does this play out in shiai? Are there other mental considerations that should be kept in mind (as we are dealing with a child)? Thank you. Any collective experience that you guys can share would be much appreciated.

uki goshi hand position (arm up the back)

He could also try a "high lapel grip" where he's putting his stump in the collar of his partners - if he gets behind the lapel from the inside, the lapel will help hold his stump inside, giving him tremendous leverage. You can use the same theory on the inside of the jacket as well. You can use it on the outside for morote gari and the like - jerk the jacket loose enough for him to find purchase under the lapel, and then go from there.

You and he should experiment. You can fist the hand that he doesn't have and see how that plays with grips. Work together as a method of problem solving - it's just a difference that needs to be explored. Failures just lead to success - you can't succeed without them. So, laugh when you do something silly, admit mistakes, modify, be flexible, and move on from there.

Sounds like a good student.

Thanks Stacey. Well definitely play around with some of these tactics. I meant to put this under general discussion rather than this section. How would it get moved? Can I do this, or is it a moderator?

done

Raj Venugopal wrote:We have a student (about 10 yrs) that recently came to the main club to train who did judo in one of our after school programs before that. He does not have a right hand; his arm terminates at around where his wrist would be. The end is quite hardened and he says he does not feel pain. Great kid, works hard. I watch him out-hustle able bodied kids. He has heart.

In addition to just having fun, which is important at that age, I'd like to help him focus on a few techniques that will work. One is ippon seionage from a sleeve or lapel grip. Another is tai-otoshi with the blade of the forearm pushing against uke's forearm. Koshi-nage is not allowed under Judo Canada's rules until they are older. O-goshi will have mixed results because his arm isn't quite long enough. I'm thinking taking a left foot stance and de-ashi harai would also be a good option.

My question- does anyone here have experience as a one-handed player, or a coaching a one-handed player? What techniques work well? How does this play out in shiai? Are there other mental considerations that should be kept in mind (as we are dealing with a child)? Thank you. Any collective experience that you guys can share would be much appreciated.

Have you inquired of any of the higher level guys who instruct the DI/DA or Level 3 courses as to advice ? I'd think that would be your first go -to resources.

I would think he would be on the recreational track versus elite/competition traci, (although making that decision isn't really appropriate at 10 years of age and a beginner level). So shiai wouldn't be a emphasis for a while, especially given his age.

Assuming you are working on his ABC's etc., purely from a judo technique point of view, it sounds like you are on the right track.

The "underhook" grip (as in Harai Goshi in Nage No kata) may be useful for him as well, and eventually maki komi when appropriate. He can also learn to trap uke arm under his armpit, perhaps.

In any case, his athletic development (ABC's) I would think would take priority. Kids are also quite creative and adaptive, so given some guided discovery type of learning he could well work a lot out himself.

Those are just my musings, I have no expertise in working with athletes with disabilities.

"Koshi Nage", I guess you mean Koshi Guruma ?

Here is what the LTAD has to say about disabilities, not a lot, but something. You might want to try to find out if anyone in your province has specialized training to deal with disabled judoka.
http://www.judocanada.org/system/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/JC-LTAD-AWAD-Terminology.pdf

Hi Ben, yes, I meant koshi-guruma. I spoke with some of our senior instructors about techniques, but this is still very early stage. I have my NCCP1, and when I do NCCP 2 I will see if some of these considerations (not just for now but long term development) can be discussed. Sensei is head of the national grading board and has quite a few resources and experiences at his disposal (for example, he's a blind judo certified ref too), and I will be discussing this with him. Training him to catch the underhook is a great idea and I think getting him to think in this way from this early stage is smart. At this point, the key is for him to have fun, and ensure that we can give him techniques he can do, which I hope encourage him to stick with it rather than feel judo is a sport/activity only for able-bodied people. I appreciate you and Stacey's thoughts on this.

Raj Venugopal wrote:Hi Ben, yes, I meant koshi-guruma. I spoke with some of our senior instructors about techniques, but this is still very early stage. I have my NCCP1, and when I do NCCP 2 I will see if some of these considerations (not just for now but long term development) can be discussed. Sensei is head of the national grading board and has quite a few resources and experiences at his disposal (for example, he's a blind judo certified ref too), and I will be discussing this with him. Training him to catch the underhook is a great idea and I think getting him to think in this way from this early stage is smart. At this point, the key is for him to have fun, and ensure that we can give him techniques he can do, which I hope encourage him to stick with it rather than feel judo is a sport/activity only for able-bodied people. I appreciate you and Stacey's thoughts on this.

I guess NCCP1 is "Dojo Assistant" and NCCP2 is "Dojo Instructor"?

I just completed the Dojo Instructor course in Delta, BC last month. Great stuff, and really has me motivated.

I'd say's he's able bodied.

You got it. And the NCCP3 is Competition Development Coach. And yes you're right- he IS able bodied!

For groundwork you could take some inspiration from Jean Jacques Machado. He's an extremely successful BJJ competitor who has no fingers on his left hand.

PointyShinyBurning wrote:For groundwork you could take some inspiration from Jean Jacques Machado. He's an extremely successful BJJ competitor who has no fingers on his left hand.

he has a thumb, which he uses quite effectively. he's able to grip with his thumb and metacarpals. such an amazing grappler.

Raj Venugopal wrote:We have a student (about 10 yrs) that recently came to the main club to train who did judo in one of our after school programs before that. He does not have a right hand; his arm terminates at around where his wrist would be. The end is quite hardened and he says he does not feel pain. Great kid, works hard. I watch him out-hustle able bodied kids. He has heart.

In addition to just having fun, which is important at that age, I'd like to help him focus on a few techniques that will work. One is ippon seionage from a sleeve or lapel grip. Another is tai-otoshi with the blade of the forearm pushing against uke's forearm. Koshi-nage is not allowed under Judo Canada's rules until they are older. O-goshi will have mixed results because his arm isn't quite long enough. I'm thinking taking a left foot stance and de-ashi harai would also be a good option.

My question- does anyone here have experience as a one-handed player, or a coaching a one-handed player? What techniques work well? How does this play out in shiai? Are there other mental considerations that should be kept in mind (as we are dealing with a child)? Thank you. Any collective experience that you guys can share would be much appreciated.

i don't have experience with training with people with no hand, i've only trained with people with partial hand, but my recommendation for a throwing technique is LEFT ippon seoi nage. he should also work on his right seoi, but should have the left option available to him. he should trap the opponent's left elbow pit with his right arm and go for left seoi.

and just wait until he's old enough to do chokes. his hadaka jime is going to be amazing.

i don't know how you or the kid's parents feel about MMA, personally i like it and have no issues with my 11 year old daughter watch Ronda fight, and if you don't see issues, show him videos of Nick Newell. what an amazing human being, this man is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4UKJs4Sy3A